By Marianne Burkett
The first thing clients ask when a new version of MusicMaster is released is “What’s New”?
If you merge Spots into MusicMaster and export both Music and Spots together via MusicMaster you will LOVE this new feature! (more…)
By Aaron Taylor
We often work with clients who find themselves tasked with a format launch (or several) in addition to their “regular” programming duties. In years past, it could prove to be a daunting chore to research the “right” songs for the format(s) (and your specific market situation) in addition to sourcing the tracks, and then building the database in your scheduling software. Gone are the days where the poor PD would need to beg and plead with their record reps for the product for this format (many automation vendors can provide you the standard format libraries off the shelf) or sources such as TM Century, iTunes, etc. Not to mention the necessity (as in the “old days”) to sit for hours in a stale production room endlessly dubbing the new music to carts. If you were lucky enough to dodge most of the duties mentioned above in a project like this, you inevitably still dreaded building the scheduling database (hand entering all the titles, categorizing them, and then building the clocks, setting up the rules, etc.)…then, once that was completed…getting the blessing of the consultant! Today, MusicMaster makes it crazy simple! Not only can we help you easily import the music order you obtained from a third party vendor, did you know you have the ability directly copy and paste from a Word or Excel document into MusicMaster? (more…)
WRR-FM – Dallas
CRFM-FM – North Bay
Olympusat – West Palm Beach
RADIO TOP – Winterthur, Switzerland
Radio Stadtfilter – Winterthur, Switzerland
Radionorba – Conversano, Italy
RTL 102.5 Hit Radio – Cologno Monzese, Italy
Radio Number One – Bergamo, Italy (Mr. Luca Viscardi of Radio Number One signs on with us, right)
An historic moment happened just prior to the NAB in Las Vegas last month. For the first time in history, the entire MusicMaster team from around the world was in one room. While there were many old acquaintances renewed, we also were able to meet some people for the very first time. It was an evening of putting names to faces as well as conversation about what a great group of people we have to serve the needs of our clients no matter where you are located. We couldn’t let this moment pass without commemorating it with a group photo. Where is the person you work with?
Standing in the back row (from left to right): Cesco van Gool, Roberto Bellotti, Joe Knapp, Greg Podsiadlo, Rainer Eichhorn, Dario Colombo, Mathieu Habegger, Jeff Stalnaker, Vania Smrkovski, Marianne Burkett, Keith Hill and Scott Wirt; Sitting in the second row: Max Mueller, Michael Buholzer, Drew Bennett, Aaron Taylor, Paul Ziino, Blair Sullivan, Jesus Rodriguez, Jim Robinson and Lydia Leitzke; Kneeling in the front row: Mike Sommers, Mark Bolke, Susan Averbeck, Thomas Roth, Justus Fisher, Cole Marshall, Jill Sorenson and Malcolm Sinclair; Photo: Laurie Knapp.
Las Vegas was the first public display of MusicMaster Version 5. The response and interest in the new features was overwhelming at times, and next year we may have to get a bigger booth! As always, it was a pleasure for all of us to meet everyone who had the opportunity to stop by.
Hollywood and MusicMaster go together like wine and cheese. It was great to see so many of our friends at the AllAccess Worldwide Radio Summit. What’s especially nice about this conference is that radio programmers from all over the world attend. Of course, the live music and Hollywood parties are pretty good too.
If you are planning to attend any of these upcoming events let us know. We would love the opportunity to say hello, share a cup of coffee, or help with any questions you may be having.
Meet Jesus Rodriguez, our new Spanish Sales and Scheduling Consultant, from Dallas, Texas.
“Imagine being able to do 8 separate music logs daily, 24 on Friday for the weekend, none of them are duplicated, and the rules are catered to each specific market. That was my old job, which was only possible through MusicMaster. The time has come for me, Jesus, to help spread the word about MusicMaster across Latin America.”
When it comes to the Adult Hits format, Joel Folger consulting has a proven track record of success.
Joel’s unique multi-format background has served him well in helping Adult Hits stations maximize 25-54 ratings. Joel programmed Rock in Minneapolis, CHR in Dallas and Oklahoma City, and Alternative in Dallas.
Joel’s consulting guidance has been used in markets of all sizes, from Pittsburgh and Austin to Chico and Bismarck.
From “start ups” to an existing Adult Hits station, Joel Folger can help.
Music, marketing, programming, branding, talent coaching, guidance, research…
Contact Joel Folger at (817) 545-3113 or joel.folger@broadcastmediaconsultants.com.
The MusicMaster Pro-Team is comprised of experienced broadcast consultants and programmers who are available to assist MusicMaster clients with programming advice. Their services are available under this cost effective program with no long term commitment required, and can be added to your existing software support plan. Information on each MusicMaster Pro-Team member is available below. If you would like to retain the services of one of the MusicMaster Pro-Team members or have questions about the specifics of the program contact Mark Bolke Vice President/COO at (651) 405-9119 or Mark@MusicMaster.com.
See the complete MusicMaster Pro-Team Roster.
Quick Tip: Query Forward and Backwards
You’re probably used to that feature in your web browser that allows you to go back and then forward through pages on the web. We’ve modified the Library Maintenance query buttons to do that same thing. This means no matter how many queries you do, you’ll be able to go back and forth to recall any query you’ve done.
Day and Hour Count
By Paul Ziino
There is a new feature in MusicMaster for Windows version 5.0 that allows you to see how many elements have been scheduled in an hour or a full day. Simply open your Schedule Editor and click the Modify Editor Layout icon, then add Schedule: Day Pos and Schedule: Hour Pos to your layout. (Read more.)
The Case for Auto Platooning
By Marianne Burkett
Recently, a client of mine asked me to review his database because he was seeing some erratic rotations. He explained his programming goals to me, while I inspected his Turnover Analysis, Rules, Histories, Clocks, dayparting and Keyword Maintenance. This client had gone to extraordinary measures with his clocks and library to ensure specific songs would not come around very often. He also seemed reluctant to even consider doing things differently. My hope is that anyone programming with MusicMaster would take a look at Auto Platooning as an option for moving songs in and out of rotation automatically…and you can schedule these moves by day, week, month or annually. (Read more.)
Corey Tremere
Program Director
Newcap, Charlottetown
“It might make me sound old, but I really just have a lot of experience 🙂 And I started when I was 11…
“When I first started programming in radio we used MusicScan, later to become MusicMaster. I’ve had the chance to use numerous programs over my career (now in my 23rd year), not one system, or a combo of “solutions” has ever even come close to being as flexible, configurable or as much of a time-saver as MusicMaster has been for me.
“Two of my favorite time-saving features within the program include being able to map out special programming features, holiday schedules and placing them in the Format Scheduler to make the clocks appear and be used to schedule on date(s) I intend to use them.
“The other feature I use EVERY day are Format Lists that I use to schedule and control the placement of all our imaging pieces. It allows me TOTAL control of the placement of show pieces, station events and community mentions without ever needing to mess in clocks. I can add in special image pieces to any day/anytime and see the turnover of any elements.
“As a programmer to be able to see, preview and adapt and control the overall/total sound of the station including imaging and station positioners in one place is exactly what I need in my music scheduler. And to know Marianne and the MusicMaster support team is right there when I need help is a fantastic comfort!”
By Drew Bennett
The arrival of MusicMaster 5.0 means exciting new features and the Scheduler badges and new Log Memo features are just some of the new things you may find when exploring the new software. (more…)
WRR-FM – Dallas
CRFM-FM – North Bay
Olympusat – West Palm Beach
RADIO TOP – Winterthur, Switzerland
Radio Stadtfilter – Winterthur, Switzerland
Radionorba – Conversano, Italy
RTL 102.5 Hit Radio – Cologno Monzese, Italy
Radio Number One – Bergamo, Italy (Mr. Luca Viscardi of Radio Number One signs on with us, right)
By Marianne Burkett
Recently, a client of mine asked me to review his database because he was seeing some erratic rotations. He explained his programming goals to me, while I inspected his Turnover Analysis, Rules, Histories, Clocks, dayparting and Keyword Maintenance. This client had gone to extraordinary measures with his clocks and library to ensure specific songs would not come around very often. He also seemed reluctant to even consider doing things differently. My hope is that anyone programming with MusicMaster would take a look at Auto-Platooning as an option for moving songs in and out of rotation automatically…and you can schedule these moves by day, week, month or annually.
Auto-Platooning defined:
Platooning is a feature that moves songs automatically between two categories. The songs that have been in the category the longest move out and are rested (move date is used to calculate this), replaced with songs that have been out of rotation. This allows you to have a larger library of songs to choose from, but maintain control over the size of your categories.
Run Help, Check for Update to download the latest version of MusicMaster.
By Paul Ziino
There is a new feature in MusicMaster for Windows version 5.0 that allows you to see how many elements have been scheduled in an hour or a full day. Simply open your Schedule Editor and click the Modify Editor Layout icon, then add Schedule: Day Pos and Schedule: Hour Pos to your layout. (more…)
As the first station in Germany, Kiss FM Select started their interactive Facebook radio format using MusicMaster and the interactive add-on mLive. In combination with the play out system from Zenon Media, KISS FM Select listeners are now able to vote for their favorite songs, offered to them through the MusicMaster Scheduling software that gives the station full control over their format and the listeners all the fun of interacting with their station.
Check it out at facebook.com/988kissfm, and please contact us if you want to know more about MusicMaster and mLive!
For users of 4.0, the latest service release is now available. Select Help, Check for Update to get 4.0sr25.
We have a long tradition of showing off our latest products at the NAB Show. Here’s Joe Knapp, A-Ware’s President and CEO, along with Rainer Eichhorn, On Air’s General Manager, showing off Air Play and an early version of MusicMaster in the late 90s. This year the tradition continues as our North American and International teams will be in Las Vegas again for the NAB Show, April 14-18, to show off the all new MusicMaster Version 5.
If you would like to schedule a specific time for a personal tour, we would be happy to arrange it. Contact Mark Bolke with your day and time preference. You’ll find us in the Central Hall, Booth #1131, near the west-side entrance.
If you are planning to attend any of these upcoming events let us know. We would love the opportunity to say hello, share a cup of coffee, or help with any questions you may be having.
Jeff Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Alan Burns & Associates, and has been with the company since 1987.
Alan Burns & Associates is a small firm that specializes in precise custom strategies and close, personal attention to our limited client list. Our task is to help each client formulate – then execute – the one strategy that will result in success. We help radio stations increase ratings by providing custom strategies, music plans, morning show development, marketing/promotion ideas, and the training of your staff. We consult all forms of AC and CHR: from Mainstream, Soft, Modern, Gold AC and Hot AC, to Mainstream and Rhythmic CHR.
Alan Burns & Associates is proud to have helped hundreds of AC and CHR stations succeed in even the toughest of market circumstances. The result of our accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills is successful clients. A few of the radio stations we have helped win include great stations like Z100 New York, WBMX Boston, and WSHH Pittsburgh.
Contact Jeff Johnson at (410) 647-6666 or jeff@burnsradio.com.
The MusicMaster Pro-Team is comprised of experienced broadcast consultants and programmers who are available to assist MusicMaster clients with programming advice. Their services are available under this cost effective program with no long term commitment required, and can be added to your existing software support plan. Information on each MusicMaster Pro-Team member is available below. If you would like to retain the services of one of the MusicMaster Pro-Team members or have questions about the specifics of the program contact Mark Bolke Vice President/COO at (651) 405-9119 or Mark@MusicMaster.com.
See the complete MusicMaster Pro-Team Roster.
Quick Tip: History Browser on Coding FieldsYou’ve likely opened the History Browser and done a report to see who your most played artist or title was over a given period of time. Have you considered doing the same thing for your coding fields, like gender or tempo? When you open the History Browser, set the Display Mode to one of your coding fields. Once displayed, configure the bottom graph to show Air Time or Spins Density. You’ll now see how much of the time frame is taken up by the each code. This is a great way to make sure you are maintaining your overall programming goals.
MusicMaster 5.0 Feature Spotlight – Category QuickMove
By Aaron Taylor
Here is a very exciting new option available to you in the latest version of MusicMaster, we call it Category QuickMove. In a nutshell, it allows you to quickly make category changes of elements in a faster, much simpler drag and drop fashion than in previous versions of MusicMaster Windows. Instead of calling up a large list of the categories you need to work with by a query or perhaps a category group, you can now just simply go to DATASET-LIBRARY-QUICKMOVE to make those weekly category moves and changes. (Read more.)
Drawing a Blank with BMI/ASCAP Reports
By Drew Bennett
One of the most common issues we hear about are clients who have been tasked with generating a BMI or ASCAP report and they can’t seem to find data in the log they generate. When running any Special History Report in MusicMaster, it’s important to check every setting before generating the log. It can save you heartache and time with BMI or ASCAP. (Read more.)
Mike O’Reilly
Program Director
KFMB San Diego
Some of the things Mike likes best about MusicMaster: “Being able to copy and paste in & out of Excel is huge! I’ve been working with Drew Bennett on developing customized import / Library Sync definition files for Jack FM and it’s saved me a ton of time pulling in outside data from BDS. Also being able to set up rule groups separately for the editor and scheduler allow me to consistently deliver Jack’s signature sound in San Diego. Auto-Platooning is my next feature to lock down.”
As the first station in Germany, Kiss FM Select started their interactive Facebook radio format using MusicMaster and the interactive add-on mLive. In the combination with the play out system from Zenon Media, KISS FM Select listeners are now able to vote for their favorite songs, offered to them through the MusicMaster Scheduling software that gives the station full control over their format and the listeners all the fun of interacting with their station.
Check it out at facebook.com/988kissfm, and please contact us if you want to know more about MusicMaster and mLive!
